


A Shred of Hope

by frapandfurious



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: "Shredder Company Guy" Kylo, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Crack, Everything I Touch Turns to Fluff, Fluff, Generic Office Worker Hux, Light Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 13:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10877535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frapandfurious/pseuds/frapandfurious
Summary: Every Monday morning at nine he arrived, pulling the bin with the Solo and Sons Information Security logo on the side, underneath it their slogan: Because Your Business is No One Else’s Business. The moment he showed up, Hux had been drawn to him in a way he couldn’t explain, but was too awkward to do anything about. So every Monday their eyes met, they exchanged a smile-and-nod, maybe a polite “good morning”, and then Kylo did his job and left.





	A Shred of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this](http://obsessions-and-dreams.tumblr.com/post/160441778130/we-have-a-bin-at-work-where-we-put-documents-to-go) post, which four different people then encouraged. So I did, and it's so dumb. XD
> 
> Hux's actual job is kept deliberately vague; he can work wherever your imagination desires.

Monday morning at 8:58 a.m. the doorknob on Hux’s office door twisted and he startled. His expected visitor was two minutes early today. He automatically straightened, smoothed a hand over his hair for the tenth time in five minutes, pulled up some Very Serious Document on his computer screen, spread some papers out in front of him. Trying to look busy, important.

 

The door opened and a short man stepped in. Hux huffed and slumped out of his pose. It was only Mitaka.

 

“What do you want?” he snapped, glancing at the clock at the bottom right of his screen as it changed to 8:59. Mitaka absolutely _could not_ be here when _he_ arrived.

 

“Y-your stepmother is on line two.”

 

“Tell her I’ll call her back.”

 

“But-“

 

“Just do it!”

 

The secretary slunk back out, closing the door. Hux sighed and sat back in his chair.

 

Just as his heart rate had started to calm, the door clicked open again. He sat up quickly, trying to appear casual and disinterested.

 

This time it was exactly who he hoped for.

 

The man entered, pulling a wheeled plastic bin behind him. He looked the same as ever: dark blue work shirt pulled tight over a broad chest and arms, black pants on long legs, dark hair pulled back into a messy bun. The white nametag reading _Kylo_ , written with sharpie on white tape covering what had been there previously. The captivating face which glanced at Hux from the doorway and almost smiled before giving a quick nod. Hux half-smiled and nodded in return, eyes darting back down to his work.

 

This had been their routine for over five months, since Kylo had replaced the elderly man who used to come in to empty the container where Hux deposited confidential paperwork to be taken away and shredded. Every Monday morning at nine he arrived, pulling the bin with the Solo and Sons Information Security logo on the side, underneath it their slogan: _Because Your Business is No One Else’s Business_. The moment he showed up, Hux had been drawn to him in a way he couldn’t explain, but was too awkward to do anything about. So every Monday their eyes met, they exchanged a smile-and-nod, maybe a polite “good morning”, and then Kylo did his job and left.

 

But today was going to be different. Today, Hux decided, he was going to exchange more than two words with him. The date was 7/17/17, he’d found a heads-up penny the night before. It had to be the day. Right?

 

(He could not have been more wrong.)

 

Kylo entered and made his way to the confidential bin, a waist-high structure that just looked like a shelf but had a thin opening for slipping paper into. He found a small key on the keychain on his belt, bent slightly to reach the lock, opened the front of the container, pulled out the bag of papers.

 

From his desk, Hux had a perfect view of the man’s marvelous ass. He took a moment to appreciate it, just in case he did screw this up, in case this was the last time.

 

Kylo dumped the contents into his bin, replaced the bag, shut the door, locked it, returned the keys to the clip on his belt. He straightened and turned, and that’s when Hux spoke.

 

“So,” he began. “Are you the ‘son’ in Solo and Sons?”

 

Kylo looked at him abruptly, a scowl on his face, and Hux regretted speaking, in fact he regretted every word he’d ever spoken in his _life_.

 

So, of course, he continued talking, unable to stop the words from babbling out of his mouth.

 

“H-how many ‘sons’ are there?”

 

The scowl deepened into a dark look and Hux was suddenly glad he was sitting down or it would have made his knees wobble. From the look of Kylo’s arms, he could probably snap Hux in half if he really wanted to.

 

(Hux had thought, too much, about being bent in half by Kylo a _different_ way, but now those fantasies were quickly fading…)

 

Kylo didn’t say anything, in what felt like the longest seconds of Hux’s life. Then he muttered something Hux didn’t catch and hurried out the door.

 

Hux leaned forward and put his forehead on the desk with a dull _thump_. He wondered if it was possible to die of shame.

 

*

 

Kylo spent the entire rest of his shift, and his lunch break, and the drive home, and the evening, and the next day, and then the rest of the week, berating himself over what had happened.

 

_He finally talked to you. He was trying to have a conversation. He asked you a question. You couldn’t just answer like a normal person, no, you had to scare him and then run off like some kind of freak…_

 

By the time Monday rolled around again, he’d rehearsed about ten different versions of an apology and, if that went well, was even going to take a leap of fate and ask the cute redhead – whose name he didn’t even know, he never got close enough to the desk to make out the little name plate – out for coffee. Or dinner. Or lunch. Or _anything_.

 

 _One thing at a time_ , he told himself. The first order of business was fixing this mess.

 

When he entered the office, he made himself give an actual smile, or, as much of one as he could manage without putting his slightly crooked teeth on display.

 

He was greeted by an empty chair.

 

His face dropped. There was a coffee cup on the desk, papers neatly stacked beside it, the windows were cracked to let air in. But there was no sign of the man.

 

Kylo was so distraught he nearly forgot to do his job, and then he took his time doing it, hoping that maybe he would show up while Kylo was still there.

 

He didn’t.

 

The only, _only_ silver lining was that Kylo finally had his chance to sneak a glimpse at the man’s name. He crept over to the desk and read the black writing on the shiny little placard.

 

__A. Hux._ _ 


 

Not a first name, but it was better than nothing. Hux. He liked the sound of it…sharp and clean, the way the man himself seemed.

 

With no other reason to linger, and the rest of the building to cover, he sighed and left the room. He’d try again next week.

 

*

 

 _You are many things_ , Hux told himself the next Monday, _but you are not a coward_.

 

That was patently untrue. He’d deliberately scheduled a meeting for nine in the morning the previous Monday for the sole purpose of not being there when Kylo arrived. He just…couldn’t face him after screwing up so badly.

 

Every day since then he’d wondered what exactly he said wrong. Maybe the ‘Solo’ of Solo and Sons was dead, and it was a touchy subject? Or…was it possible that Kylo wasn’t the son, but the _father_ , and had young children who would eventually inherit the business? He seemed too young for that, but Hux supposed it wasn’t completely out of the question.

 

Whatever the answer was, he was certain he’d never find it out. He’d blown his one shot. But he wasn’t going to hide anymore.

 

When Kylo entered that day, Hux didn’t look up. Keeping his eyes fixed on the screen took every ounce of well-cultivated self-control he had, but he did it. Kylo lingered in the doorway for a moment and Hux could feel his gaze on him. For a moment it seemed as if he wanted to say something. _Don’t look, don’t look_ , _don’t look._

 

Finally, Kylo moved into the room with his bin and began emptying the container. His movements seemed slow, hesitant. This must be incredibly awkward for him, too, Hux realized, though in a different way. To have to continue doing his job even if it put him around someone he now clearly couldn’t stand…

 

Kylo finished up and put away his key. As he moved to turn back towards the door, Hux blurted out, “thank you.”

 

Kylo froze. He half-turned in Hux’s direction, gave a short nod, and left.

 

That was better than nothing. Right?

 

*

 

The next week, they both nodded to each other when Kylo came in. No smiles or words were exchanged, but at least there was eye contact.

 

The week after that, a nod and a quick half-smile.

 

The week after that, “good mornings” were exchanged.

 

The week after that, “good morning” and “thank you” and “you’re welcome”. Kylo even threw in a “have a nice day,” which startled Hux so much he couldn’t formulate a reply until the door was already clicking shut.

 

*

 

“Good morning,” Hux said. It had been six Mondays since The Mistake. Things had finally returned to more-or-less normal. It was a relief, he supposed. But it meant accepting that nothing would come of this, and he should probably let it go and move on.

 

“Morning,” Kylo replied. He cleared his throat, entered the room, then did something he’d never done: he let go of the bin and walked up to Hux’s desk. Hux’s breath caught in his throat.

 

It was then he noticed Kylo was holding something: a plain white envelope.

 

A small, deeply buried, overly-romantic part of Hux hoped against all logic that it was some sort of…

 

_What? A love letter? What is this, grade school? Pull yourself together, you sentimental moron…_

 

Kylo held out the envelope.

 

“That twitchy guy at the front desk asked me to give this to you,” he mumbled.

 

Hux’s heart dropped so fast he thought he might be sick. Stupid, _stupid_ to get his hopes up.

 

“Thanks,” he forced out, reaching for the envelope.

 

As he grasped it their fingers brushed, and they both froze. For one brief, wonderful moment they were actually _touching_ for the first time.

 

Like a spell breaking, Kylo suddenly pulled away, leaving the envelope in Hux’s shaking hand. He started to turn away.

 

“W-wait!”

 

Hux flinched at his own voice, too loud, too desperate. _Pathetic_. But…he had Kylo’s attention.

 

“I’m sorry if I- If I upset you, the other week.” His voice shook, but the moment he said it he was suddenly glad. The only thing worse, he realized, than ruining his chance with Kylo was knowing that he might have hurt him.

 

Kylo stared at him, bewildered.

 

“You’re sorry?”

 

“I- yes?”

 

“But why, you were just… _shit_ , all this time you thought...” Kylo made a frustrated noise and ran a hand roughly through his hair. “ _I’m_ sorry!”  


It was Hux’s turn to be confused.

 

“For what?”

 

“For reacting like that. You didn’t do anything wrong, you were just asking a question. God, I’m an _idiot_ , you finally _talked_ to me and I –“

 

Kylo snapped his mouth shut, eyes wide. Hux blinked quickly as his mind tried to process what he’d just heard. Could it be that all this time Hux was hoping for Kylo to say more than two words to him, Kylo was secretly hoping the same thing?

 

Above all his confusion was a voice telling him _this is your second chance. Don’t. Blow. It._

 

“Can we start over?”

 

Kylo halted in his self-deprecation to look at him warily.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Can we…pretend it didn’t happen, and start over?” His voice, to his relief, came out much calmer than he felt. He took a deep breath and extended his hand. “My name is Hux. Please don’t ask my first name, it’s horrible.”

 

Kylo huffed a laugh.

 

“Only if you don’t ask mine. I go by Kylo. It’s…nice to meet you?”

 

Hux chuckled at the absurdity of it, introducing himself to someone he’d seen almost every week for over half a year. But the moment Kylo’s hand grasped his, the breath was stolen from his lungs. It was so warm, big and slightly calloused and _so perfect_ in his.

 

It was gone too soon, but as their hands parted, there was a smile on Kylo’s face. Not a little twitch of his mouth some reserved, polite thing, but lips curved up, revealing a glimpse of teeth, brown eyes sparkling.

 

Hux was powerless to do anything but smile back.

 

*

 

An hour later, Kylo finally left. He repeated over and over how he wished he could stay but he’d already be in trouble as it was. Hux reassured him it was fine.

 

They’d talked the entire time. Hux found out that Kylo’s father had named his business Solo and Sons long before having children, simply because he and his business partner had liked the sound of it. Kylo had been working for him since he was sixteen, and was beyond tired of being referred to as some variation of “the Solo Son”, hence his reaction when Hux brought it up.

 

Hux told him what he did there, bitched about clients and coworkers, and took his turn complaining about his own father.

 

By the end, it was hard for Hux to let him walk back out the door, but he felt a thrill at knowing he wouldn’t be waiting until next Monday to see him again.

 

The door began to shut behind Kylo. Just before it closed, he heard him speak to someone in the hall briefly, and then the door opened again. Hux quickly wiped the besotted look off his face and scowled at the intruder.

 

It was a tall, muscular man with messy blonde hair, darker at the roots, likely dyed, and large, slightly askew glasses.

 

“Can I help you?” Hux snapped.

 

“Uh. _I’m_ here to help _you_. You called for someone to come fix your printer?”

 

Oh. That was right. He’d been so caught up in everything with Kylo he completely forgot.

 

“Yes. Of course. It’s, uh. Right there.” Hux pointed.

 

“Yeah, I can see it.” He adjusted his glasses and made his way to the printer next to Hux’s desk. Hux peeked at his nametag. _Matt_. And underneath, _Printer Technician_.

 

Wait a minute. Kylo had spoken to this man.

 

“Do you know him?” Hux motioned towards the door.

  
“Who, the shredder guy? Yeah, we go to the same gym.”

 

“Oh.” Hux clenched his fists under the desk and tried very _very_ hard not to picture Kylo at the gym. Matt seemed to catch something in his expression, though, and gave him a smug look.

 

“Want to know something?”

 

“What?”

 

“The shredder guy is shredded.”

 

*

 

Friday evening at 5:59 p.m., Kylo waited outside of Hux’s building. He held a single orange rose, purchased spontaneously from a man he’d passed selling them on the corner a few blocks back. It was cheesy, but he hoped it would make Hux smile.

 

And then, at six on the dot, there he was, walking at a casual pace but the way he chewed his lip to hold back a smile gave away his excitement.

 

Kylo handed him the rose. Hux smiled, _yes_ , blushed, _even better_ , took a polite sniff of it, and immediately started sneezing.

 

Horrified, Kylo snatched the rose from his hand and crushed it in his fist. Through his watery eyes, Hux laughed and laughed. Kylo started laughing too.

 

All things considered, not a bad way to start a first date.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr!](http://obsessions-and-dreams.tumblr.com)


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